5 Gut Healthy Canned Food Recipes

In the midst of the natural disaster in Texas we found it very hard to post about gourmet homemade probiotic food this week. People so close to us have no home now, no food, no means to cook... So flaunting everything we have just isn't okay. After lots of brain storming and research we chose to do the following to help with relief efforts along with this blog post. We suggest using these means if you'd like to help as well:

1. We donated blood at the Our Lady of the Lake blood drive for Hurricane Harvey Relief. There are blood donation centers all over the country still collecting blood to send to Texas. Hospitals there are in great need of blood due to the fact no one in the area has been able to donate during the storm. Plus there's been a huge increase in the number of people that require medical attention.

2. You can donate animal feed and supplies to animal shelters in the Southeast Texas area or in other areas taking in displaced animals. Donate Directly to BARC Houston or Donate to The Harris County Animal Shelter in Houston by sending them supplies via their Amazon Wish List.

During times like these, without power, stoves or refrigerators, we luckily have canned non-perishable foods. In the middle of a disaster like Hurricane Harvey though, it's a find what you can and take what is provided scenario... There's obviously no one in the disaster areas looking at recipes like this. We know that people directly effected by this disaster are not concerned with reading our blog,but what most people reading this have is the ability to print these recipes, gather the canned food and non-perishable ingredients and donate them to individual families in Texas (especially displaced low income families), food banks, churches and disaster relief centers. People in Texas will also need easy, safe food to eat as they begin to rebuild. Providing canned food doesn't mean that those foods have to lack in nourishment. That is why we compiled five easy canned food recipes that can be eaten cold, cooked, served with cooked rice or served solo. These recipes can be made for one person or for lots of people in shelters or those being housed in others' homes. You can also use this as a resource to prepare for storms in the future.

It's important to note that these recipes are all 100% vegan. This is the only way that these recipes can be safely eaten uncooked. These recipes are also packed with nourishment, vitamins and gut healthy ingredients. This blog post was inspired by the communities in my home town of St. James Parish. I come from a place where during/after disasters, families stand on the sides of the road cooking large pots of food for other families in need. In times of disaster its important to not only feed the hungry and afflicted, but to nourish them... for they are going through an immensely tough time that will take a toll on their bodies for months to come. If you can give the gift of food during these hard times, you can also give the gift of gut nourishment. Thanks for reading.

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients

6 Cans Red Kidney Beans,

3 Cans Fire Roasted tomatoes, drained

2 Cans Mushrooms, drained

1 Small Can Hatch Chilies

1 Cajun Seasoning Packet

4 Cups of Rice Cooked (or skip the rice)

Directions (Serves 10-15)

Combine everything except the rice into a pot and stir. If you do not have cooking accessibility eat at room temperature. If you have the means, heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Serve with cooked rice, or alone as a chili.

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients

8 Cans of chickpeas

6 Avocados Or 1 Jar Vegan Mayo

1 Jar of Dill Pickles, drained Chopped

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1/4 Cup Dried Chives

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Pepper

2 Loaves of bread

Directions (Serves 15)

Smash chickpeas in a bowl with a fork or a potato masher. Mix together the avocados (or vegan mayo), pickles, mustard, salt and pepper. Combine the avocado mixture and the chickpeas. Spread on bread just like chicken salad and enjoy.

Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

4 Cans Black Beans, Drained

2 Cans Corn, Drained

2 Cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes, drained

1 Small Can Hatch Chilies

1 Cup pumpkin seeds

1 Packet Taco Seasoning

Directions (Serves 7-10)

Combine everything in a large bowl, mix and serve.

Beet Salad

Ingredients

1 Jar of pickled Beets, Drained and Chopped

1 Cup Pecans

1 Can White Corn, Drained

1 Can Lentils, Drained

1 Balsamic Vinegar Dressing Packet

Directions (Serves 3-4)

Combine everything in a large bowl, mix and serve.

Greek Salad

Ingredients

1 Can Artichokes, Drained and Chopped

2 Cans Black Olives Drained

2 Cans Chickpeas, Drained

1 Jar of Pepporchini Peppers, Drained and Sliced

1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes Drained

Salt

Pepper

2 Greek Salad Dressing Packets

Directions (Serves 4-5)

Easing your stress and anxiety, decreasing inflammation, boosting natural detoxification processes of the body, restoring a healthy gut lining, and strengthening your immune system all help to keep the gut microbiome in a balanced state. Drinking herbal teas is one of the most natural ways to accomplish these things.

Eating fermented vegetables with prebiotic rich foods, and drinking nourishing herbal teas is a great way to keep your gut health in tip-top shape.

The best way to get started on a gut healthy lifestyle is to learn the basics, and that starts with getting your bearings with the vocabulary. There are a bunch of words that fly around on our blog, on our instagram and out in the world in reference to having a healthy gut. Here is our comprehensive glossary that's a great crash course into understanding gut health.

I grew up in an extremely tiny cajun town, and now I'm a vegan. Why should that mean I can't have/cook/create cajun food? Oh yeah... it doesn't. So here is our fantastic recipe for One Pot Vegan Pastalaya! It's probiotic too!

With veggies we had on hand, some scraps from shooting a how to make summer rolls video, pickles fresh from our oak barrels, some amazing vegan pepper jack cheese, and a bit of my favorite Goddess dressing from Trader Joe's, I surprised myself with the BEST veggie sandwich

This is our most recent fermentation creation and the flavors came out beautiful. When we decided to use our spiralizerto cut the cucumbers, I was a little worried about how the texture would come out... but wow... these turned out wonderfully crunchy, thanks to bay leaves. So far we've eaten these pickle spirals in a vermicelli bowl and it was perfect! I'm sure these would be great on sandwiches and veggie burgers and as a part of a snack board (or cheese board). Hope you enjoy!

If you catch the cold or flu virus this year, there are at home remedies to help with symptoms; Remedies that can also help your immune system fight back to health. When you have a cold or the flu virus, the best thing you can do is provide your immune system with all the tools it needs to succeed, as well as protecting your body from more infections while your immune system is busy fighting off viruses. Our favorite at home remedy is our wild fermented fire cider.

We weren't always plant based. Plant based eating is fairly new to our lives as of this year, and we are LOVING it. We don't really miss meat or dairy at all. Sometimes though, I think about a specific dish we used to enjoy every now and then... Kimchi Mac and Cheese. Well, great news! I missed kimchi mac and cheese so much that I made a vegan version. Enjoy!